Naruto: Lost to Hinata on Purpose, and Now Everything's a Mess Chapter 15 15 : Save Hinata

Kakashi looked at Guy's expression and knew he was serious.

But he also understood that there was no way Guy could convince Riku to train in taijutsu with him.

Because Riku had no intention of specializing in taijutsu at all.

"Then you'd better be prepared for rejection. That's his decision—not mine," Kakashi said plainly.

Guy clenched his fists, his eyes sparkling with determination. "I'm going to get him to train in taijutsu with . It's rare to find soone with that kind of potential, and I'm not letting this go."

Kakashi chuckled. He doubted Guy could succeed.

But Riku had no idea that at this very mont, Kakashi and Guy had been arguing for a while over whether he should pursue physical training.

The next day, Riku arrived at the Academy as usual.

The only difference was that Hinata was paying more attention to him than before.

Though lately, Riku hadn't interacted much with her.

After school.

As always, Riku made his way toward the forested hill behind the Academy.

He could sense Hinata quietly following him, but chose not to call her out.

Just as he was about to use the Body Flicker Technique to disappear, he heard another set of voices behind him.

Riku frowned. Why now?

He initially didn't want to bother, but the number of people was too many to ignore.

Hinata, who had secretly trailed Riku, had run into trouble.

She had been cornered by four boys in a narrow alley off the main street.

At first, Riku had no intention of getting involved. But in his sensory perception, the Hyuga clan's guards were nowhere near her.

If he left her now, she'd likely get hurt.

After a mont's thought, Riku finally turned around.

In a shadowy corner of the alley, four boys around ten years old had blocked Hinata's way.

Hinata could have escaped if she fought back, but her personality held her back from putting up proper resistance.

As the four boys demanded money from her, Riku stepped into the alleyway entrance, his expression unreadable.

"If I report this to the Academy, you'll probably be expelled, right?"

His voice cut through the alley like a blade.

The boys froze for a mont at the sudden interruption.

Then they turned toward Riku—and laughed.

"Hah! Kid, you'd better back off. If you get involved, you won't last long at the Academy."

"You rat us out, and we'll make your life hell."

Just punks.

They were clearly bluffing, though. They feared the possibility of Riku actually reporting them.

Riku glanced over at Hinata, cornered behind them. His face remained expressionless.

Hinata's eyes lit up at the sight of him—but quickly dimd when she saw his cold expression. She lowered her head.

Riku-kun must think I'm pathetic...

Seeing Riku ignore them made the four boys annoyed.

"Hey! Are you listening, punk? You tattling on us will be the worst mistake of your life!"

Their threats were empty.

Riku didn't flinch. His eyes narrowed with disdain.

Just four little punks. Even if they beco shinobi soday, they'll still be trash.

"I don't care about you, but your kind is a threat to people like ."

That line pushed them over the edge.

"You little brat! You think you can call us trash? You're just a lower-grade student!"

"We're in the upper grades—we could crush you without trying!"

"Get him! Just don't kill him—beat him as hard as you want!"

Three of the boys lunged toward Riku while the fourth—clearly their ringleader—stood back, arms folded, watching with a sneer.

He fully believed that three upper-grade boys could easily handle one lower-grade kid.

Hinata grew anxious for Riku. She wanted to help.

"Riku-kun!"

But before she could move, the ringleader turned and kicked her back.

"Stay out of this!"

That was the last straw for Hinata.

Her lavender eyes sharpened.

"Byakugan!"

Her palm struck forward, knocking the boy back with force.

He stumbled, stunned. He couldn't believe the girl he always thought was weak had the nerve to fight back—and was as strong as he was.

But that only made him angrier.

"You dare resist ?!"

He grabbed a nearby brick and charged at her in rage.

anwhile, the other three had rushed Riku.

"Idiots."

That was all Riku said before he moved.

Boom. Boom. Boom.

A blur of motion.

Riku appeared in front of them in an instant, delivering a rapid series of kicks to their stomachs.

The three boys dropped instantly, clutching their guts in pain, their faces twisted in agony.

The difference in strength was too obvious.

They had barely registered what had happened—and now they couldn't move.

The fourth boy, still clutching the brick, hurled it at Hinata.

Riku's eyes narrowed.

He vanished again—and reappeared in front of Hinata.

Bang!

He caught the brick mid-air.

Crack.

He squeezed, and it crumbled into dust.

The boy stared in disbelief.

What the hell is with this guy? How is he this strong?!

Hinata looked up at Riku, her face flushed.

"Riku-kun…"

Ever since the day he'd let her win and said those gentle words, she couldn't stop thinking about him.

At first, she told herself Naruto was the most important person in her heart.

She kept secretly watching Riku, but still spent more ti looking at Naruto.

But now, after just one week, she found herself barely thinking about Naruto at all.

And sohow, she'd developed the habit of following Riku around.

Riku didn't respond to her. His gaze remained on the boy still standing.

"If I don't teach you a lesson, you'll think I'm easy to bully."

With that, he vanished once more.

And appeared directly in front of the boy—then slamd a kick into his stomach.

Bang!

The boy flew backward, hit the ground, and curled up in pain, close to tears.

Riku looked down at the four of them in disgust.

"Pathetic. At first, I thought you were just kids. But the things you've done disgust ."

Then he turned to Hinata.

She imdiately lowered her head, cheeks pink, unable to et his eyes.

"Riku-kun… Thank you for saving ."